Prioritization tools

Strategic thinking and planning requires prioritization, choices, and trade-offs. Public diplomacy (PD) sections cannot take on all the ICS goals, projects, or programs that it might like to do. Use the prioritization tools below to analyze and record your thought process.

1. Linear scale

One of the simplest ways to prioritize is to physically move sub-objectives or projects around on a linear scale. In a collaborative session, work to put things in order, from least important to most important. One critical point of discussion for this tool is to decide, as a team, what constitutes “importance.”

Figure 13. Linear scale

2. Eisenhower Matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix is a common prioritization tool for deciding which tasks to do now, which ones to plan, which ones to delegate, and which ones to ignore or eliminate. You can modify the matrix to prioritize tasks or projects.

• Important tasks and projects are those that contribute significantly to the mission's priorities, and those to which the PD section is best positioned to contribute .
• Urgent tasks and projects that have a critical or short- time horizon and require immediate attention.

In a 2x2 matrix exercise, your goal is to get each project or task into a quadrant – no vacillating and putting things in the middle.

Figure 14. Eisenhower Matrix

3. Value v. effort

This tool plots value and effort. It is similar to the Eisenhower Matrix. You can divide the chart into quadrants. The goal is to identify the sub-objectives or projects where your PD resources can have the greatest impact or value. Expending significant resources on a low-impact project is not a wise use of time, money, or skills.

Figure 15. Value vs. effort

4. Prioritization table

You can use a table like this one to streamline your analysis. This tool is useful for comparing sub-objectives by using consistent criteria and recording your analysis.

Figure 16. Prioritization table